Quote:
Originally Posted by Gilliatt  I don't know about the Hindu reincarnations, but it was not invented in the 19th century. It goes as far back as Plato's Symposium(189c-193e). You sure can argue that Plato's concept did not have much to do with today's meeting websites, but it is still where the idea originated. |
I wasn't clear, in that case, because I was primarily discussing soulmates. My mention of reincarnation (and Atlantis, Threefold, etc) was aimed, not at stating they were all 19th century concepts, but that they were all uncritically re-conceptualized new age notions, and that soulmates came along in the 19th century. As for Plato--reincarnation predated him, since it's mentioned in various contexts in earlier Hindi documents. That said, again it bears little or no relationship to the modern new age pop version.